Taiikusai

For those of you that read the chapter that used to be 14, you may wonder where it went. I decided to delete it because it was fluff that added little to the story. I guess you can say I'm "killing my darlings". Since this story is getting pretty long, I opted for continuing the storyline instead.

I hope this makes the story stronger as a whole :)




~*~*~*~* Training ~*~*~*~*~*~


“Will you please stop squirming? Or I’ll photograph you like everyone else!”

“But this stool is uncomfortable!”

“Geez, Sakura, you were the last person I expected to be so fussy!”

“Well, if you’d draw faster!” Her face twisted nastily.

“Okay okay! I’m trying dattebayo!” Naruto continued to sketch her profile, smiling, despite the traces of her lingering scowl. “And I’m… just… about… DONE! You’re free to move again.”

“Phew,” she hopped down fro her perch, “I thought my butt was gonna go numb.” She took a glance at the sketch. “Hrm, Maybe I should have given you my right side.”

“SAAkuRA! I’m not doing it again!”

“Hehe, it’s fine. Just, don’t make me stand out too much, okay?”

Naruto nodded. He bit the edge of his pencil as he looked at the overall sketch again.

“I gotta hand it to you Naruto. It looks fantastic. It looks like you have most of it mapped out already too. Sasuke-kun should be getting here soon with the panels. Now that Gaara-kun is gone, maybe you’ll actually be able to concentrate.”

Naruto turned pink. “What do you mean? I worked on it all week!”

“Uh huh. You worked on it when you weren’t running to the student council room for something or taking mysteriously long bathroom breaks.”

Naruto turned a deep shade of red.

“I drank some bad milk!”

“Mmhrm.” Sakura giggled at Naruto’s embarrassment. There were few things that could make the loud, rambunctious blond so bashful and Sabaku Gaara seemed to be one of them. “He left yesterday, right? Are you going to be able to hold out that long?”

“Yeah. He’ll be gone for the next two weeks. It’s going to be hard not seeing him, but we saw each other nearly everyday this past week.” Naruto smiled.

“Has he nailed you yet?”

Naruto sputtered. “SAAkuRAA!”


Sasuke reached for the door when Sakura’s question caught his attention.

“Has he nailed you yet?”

Sasuke sniggered at Naruto’s reaction. Like that wasn’t obvious.

“We… we… haven’t done it yet.” Sasuke took a mental step back. Against his better judgment, he felt a small glimmer of hope.

“Hrm? Don’t you want to?”

“Well yeah!... Of course.”

“So? Why haven’t you?”

“Hrm, I guess it’s because it just hasn’t happened yet. Things usually move along naturally between us. Though lately he’s been seducing the pants off of me.”

“Literally?”

“SAAkuRA!”

“Haha! I’ll take that as a yes. And DON’T give me that look. You said it. But anyways, go on.”

“Well… I’m kinda nervous about who is going to… you know…”

“Take it up the…”

“Sakura! Why are you so foul-mouthed today?”

“Ahahaha! Because your reactions are worth it. Have you tried talking to Gaara about it?”

“No, it’s still kinda embarrassing for me. He seems completely comfortable with all of it too, which makes me even more embarrassed.”

“You know, Gaara isn’t famous for showing his emotions. He might be just as anxious about it as you are. Talk to him Naruto. If anything, he’s the one with the clue in this sort of situation, so you may want to ask him about… the details.”

“Details?”

“About… you know!”

Rattle.

Sasuke didn’t want to hear anymore. “Know about what?” Sakura and Naruto quickly covered their surprise. Clamping their mouths shut, neither of them offered an answer. “The boards are in the hallway. Help me carry them in.”

Naruto quietly exited the room in surprising obeisance.

Sasuke turned to Sakura. “What did I miss?”


~*~*~*~*~


Gaara sat at a desk looking over paperwork for the upcoming festival. Vacation aside, he had promised to fax all the forms to Neji after he finished.

He sighed as his brain took an unscheduled vacation. His thoughts couldn’t stop straying to a particular loud blond.

He glanced at his phone again to see if any new mail had arrived. Digital numbers greeted him, but no new e-mail notifications showed up. Naruto must still be working on the signboard. He should have been following his boyfriend’s example by throwing himself into his work, but he could no longer concentrate.

Naruto was working on the signboard, meaning the Uchiha was probably with him. As much as he trusted Naruto, the boy could be completely dense at times. And the Uchiha… there was no question about it. He had kissed Naruto knowing that he was taken. What more would he attempt with Naruto all to himself for two weeks?

He had resisted at first, but maybe he should have asked Neji to keep an eye on them. The next two weeks would be difficult and all he could do was wait.



~*~*~*~*~
The next day
~*~*~*~*~

Gaara peered out of one eye at the already bright room. “Temari, what are you doing?”

“Get up!” She moved away from the curtains to rip off the sheet he had tucked around him. “I will not have you moping another day! You’re getting up and you’re jogging with me this morning!”

“We’ve only been here for two days.”

“Exactly! And you will not waste another one moping over that blond runt when said runt is probably busy training. Now, you will be too. So get up. You’re not the fastest runner and I’m not losing a race because you decided to stay indoors all summer.”

“I run fast enough.”

“And that Lee kid could beat you in his sleep. Now get UP!”

“You may want to listen to her,” Kankura grumbled from the doorway. “With me, she was violent first and then explained. Be grateful you received the gentle approach.”

Gaara sighed and sat up. His sister did have a point…

~*~*~*~*~



Sasuke opened the door and nearly drooled at the sight in front of him. Naruto stood still, arms raised and head covered by the orange t-shirt he was in the process of putting on.

“Sakura! I TOLD you I was getting dressed!”

Sasuke tried not to stare. He succeeded in averting his eyes for maybe a second before they shifted back to the golden expanse of skin exposed: from nipple to the tips of his boxers peeking out from behind his unzipped pants.

“She’s not here, dobe.”

Naruto pulled down his shirt, tucked it into his pants and zipped them up. Sasuke tried to seem disinterested in these small gestures.

“She was here five minutes ago. Why are you here so early?”

“How will you paint anything without actual paint?” Sasuke gestured to the bags sitting in the hallway.

“Oh. That was fast. I’m still sketching everything onto the panels.”

“Oh, Sasuke-kun? You’re here early.” Sakura popped her head in. “Oh good, and Naruto is finally decent. Heads up!” She tossed a bottle which Naruto caught with ease.

“Thanks,” he winked, “I owe you.”

“It’s important to stay hydrated in this heat. Especially if you’re going to be running around like that.”

“Yeah yeah.” He opened the bottle and took a long swig.

“Running?” Sasuke looked between the two of them.

“Training,” Sakura supplied. “The Sabakus are against us this year.”

“Hn.” Sasuke tried not to smile. He had all but forgotten.

“I’m training so I can beat Gaara this year! You better not slack, teme. You’re the last leg of our four man relay.”

“The lists are posted?”

“As of this morning,” Naruto grimaced. “I was witness to Ino beating it out of Shikamaru. I’m glad I won’t be up against her for anything.”

“What’s the lineup?” Naruto blinked at him quizzically. “For the relay…”

“Oh! The first year team is me, Shino, Kiba and you. So you better not slack.”

“And you’ve been training?”

“Every morning! Hehe. Lee said I could run with the track team in the morning.”

“Can I join?”

Naruto seemed taken aback by his question. Slowly a grin lit up his face. “I’ll ask Lee right away!” He was bounding out of the room the next second.

Sasuke didn’t like the look Sakura was giving him. He tried to ignore it by turning to get the bags of paint in the hall.

“Sasuke-kun?”

“Hrm?”

“Why are you so interested in practicing with others this time? Don’t you usually work out on your own?”

“Competition.”

He could feel her eyes narrowing into his back. “Well, I hope for both your sakes that you’re talking about the sports festival.”

She walked past him and down the hall.

Sakura had become surprisingly perceptive since she stopped looking at him through rose-colored glasses. Gaara may have been absent, but it seems he had someone else to watch out for him. Funny. His first guess would have been Hyuuga. Sasuke lifted a few bags and pulled them into the classroom. He would have to watch out for her as well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: I think I can finally see how I'll get to the end of this story. Hope you're enjoying it :) Please leave a comment to let me know what you think.